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NRL Saturday: Raiders sneak home in emotional clash with South Sydney, Broncos score upset win over Warriors

Canberra scored an emotional win over South Sydney.  (Getty Images: Brendon Thorne )

Canberra scored a late fightback win over South Sydney while Brisbane landed an upset victory over New Zealand in another big night of NRL action.

Check out all the news, scores and stats below.

Canberra Raiders 33 def South Sydney Rabbitohs 26

Josh Papalii and Jack Wighton's sudden State of Origin retirements have been vindicated after the pair guided Canberra to a 33-26 defeat of South Sydney in a match overshadowed by a worrying medical incident involving Raiders forward Corey Harawira-Naera.

The 28-year-old Harawira-Naera collapsed after taking a regulation hit-up during the second half at Stadium Australia and began twitching on the ground, apparently experiencing a seizure.

Play stopped for more than 10 minutes, with the forward responsive and conscious as he left the field in a medicab to a standing ovation from the crowd.

Papalii and Wighton would have been firmly in the frame for selection in this year's Origin series before their sudden withdrawals to focus on their Raiders duties.

Team stats

The pair will be at peace with the decision after they helped Canberra withstand three injuries and a Cody Walker master-class to consolidate their spot in the top eight.

As well as the loss of Harawira-Naera, the Raiders had earlier been forced to overcome a knee injury to fullback Seb Kris and also lost winger and back-up fullback Jordan Rapana to a concussion in the final 10 minutes.

The Rabbitohs' Origin contingent Latrell Mitchell, Jai Arrow and captain Cameron Murray missed Saturday's clash, as did injured leading try-scorer Campbell Graham. Those absences looked to have thwarted Souths early.

Papalii and Corey Horsburgh conspired to help the Raiders put on three tries in 10 minutes and more first-half points than the Rabbitohs have conceded all season (18).

Horsburgh crossed for Canberra's first directly after Papalii (211 run metres) broke the line, and his shift to the right edge proved a masterstroke when his own burst of speed led to the Raiders' third four-pointer.

But Souths weren't out of the fight, though, as Walker sparked their attack even without his usual partner in crime Mitchell.

The league's leader in try assists came up with three on the back of his trademark passing game.

He had a fourth off the boot, sending Damien Cook over in the 68th minute with a grubber kick that allowed the hooker to bounce back from his surprise State of Origin omission.

Just as Walker was working to prevent a Raiders boilover, Wighton turned it on in his first game against Souths since signing a long-term contract to join the Redfern club from next year.

He sent a bullet pass to Jarrod Croker on the left side that allowed the Raiders to regain the lead through Tom Starling.

Albert Hopoate had his third try, and the match-winner, directly after Wighton broke through the defence in the 73rd minute.

AAP

Brisbane Broncos 26 def New Zealand Warriors 22

An off-field decision has thwarted a Warriors fightback in the dying seconds as an understrength Brisbane kept their NRL season on track with a gripping 26-22 win in Napier.

Warriors winger Marcelo Montoya's effort in the corner on fulltime was denied by video officials because of an obstruction by Adam Pompey.

The no-try ruling left Brisbane playmaker Adam Reynolds' brilliance to set up an Ezra Mam try in the second half as the crucial moment in a game that saw the Warriors dominate for long periods.

But home side let the Broncos feast on a host of first-half mistakes and establish a lead that was too big to pull back.

The depleted Broncos came into the game missing a host of stars including former Warrior Reece Walsh, winger Selwyn Cobbo and hard-running forwards Patrick Carrigan and Payne Haas.

Second generation Bronco Tristan Sailor lined up at fullback in Walsh's place and he was targeted early and often by Shaun Johnson's kicking game.

It was galling for the sell-out crowd to not only see the Warriors squander chances in the first 20 minutes but also watch Deine Mariner pick up a fumble by Montoya to scoot 80 metres to open the scoring.

The Warriors hit back when Dallin Watene-Zelezniak dived over in the corner, which Johnson converted from wide out, but a massive lapse in concentration from Tom Ale when he fumbled the resulting kick-off put them under pressure as the clock ticked down to halftime.

Team stats

It only took two tackles for Jordan Riki to barge over and the Broncos took a 12-6 lead at the break.

Mam's try that came off a stunning break by the veteran Reynolds shot the lead out to 18-6 and allowed the Broncos to tackle their way to victory.

But Watene-Zelezniak scored again for the Warriors after a nice bit of interplay between Marata Niukore and Johnson with 18 minutes to go.

However, a second try to the impressive Mariner after 71 minutes made it look like a comfortable margin of victory for the Broncos.

The Warriors then rallied with Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad and Marcelo Montoya scoring within three minutes of each other to make it 26-22.

AAP

Fixtures

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